


IKEA Demons And Other Accidental Conjurings

by sweetcinnamonbun



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: A ton of swearing, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Demons, Drinking, Familiars, Implied Sexual Content, Jaehyun and Mark smoke weed, Lots of drinking, M/M, No beta we die like wei wuxian, Platonic Cuddling, Rating May Change, Recreational Drug Use, Summonings gone wrong, Ten will appear in chapter 3, Warnings are subject to change, tags will be updated over time, there will be humor and angst and fluff and some semblance of a plot just bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29992077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetcinnamonbun/pseuds/sweetcinnamonbun
Summary: “Welcome to the Seo Grand Academy of Magic,” he announced, turning his back to the wall at the end of the alley with his arms spread wide and… Nothing.Johnny raised an eyebrow as Haechan cackled.“Illie! You didn’t take the glamour down!” He nudged Johnny in the side with a grin. “Spellcasters, am I right?”For the past three hundred years, the Seo Grand Academy of Magic has been one of the greatest schools for the magically inclined.This does not mean, however, that there are no incidents.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Moon Taeil, Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. An American Dokkaebi In Gwangju (2021)

“Do you have everything?” his mother asked for what had to be the billionth time as she straightened his jacket.

He frowned, looking at his belongings, “I think so.”

“Bat?” his father yawned, eyes narrowed as dawn's early light hit his eyes. He answered by holding up the wooden baseball bat he’d been dragging around since he was able to walk. “Good man.”

“Sleep well on the plane and call us when you land,” his mother said sternly, “Moon Taeil will be there to make sure you get to the institute. Don’t give out your name when asked, only the name of protection we gave you. Faeries can be tricky. Wear your amulets always and don’t stare at others for too long. It’s impolite.”

He laughed a little at that, “I will, eomma.”

She nodded, giving him a hug and a kiss before they sent him off the plane, where he would be on his way to Korea to study at the same institute his parents both had.

He boarded the plane, letting out a long-held sigh as he bid his home farewell, turning off his phone and tucking it away into his pocket before making sure that the glamour surrounding the bat was still in place.

Upon landing, he gathered his things, the bat held tightly in his hand as he walked through to collect his checked baggage, looking around for any sign of the person who had been assigned to pick him up when he had it.

As it turned out, there were two people waiting for him. One was holding a sign with his name, barely stifling a loud yawn as he looked around for his charge. The other was distinctly more energetic, but had taken to hanging off of his companion at any given moment. Johnny walked over to them, bowing his head.

“Are you… Moon Taeil-ssi?” he asked, earning a tired smile and a nod in return.

The more energetic of the two seemed to fling himself forward, bouncing slightly as he stood between the two of them, earning a quiet yet stern “Hyuckie” in response. “You can call me Haechan.” He leaned towards Johnny, sniffing twices before frowning. “You smell like dokkaebi.”

“Because he _is_ , Haechannie. Now stop sniffing him. He’s not used to your kind,” Taeil muttered, tugging on Haechan’s arm before addressing Johnny directly. “Welcome to Korea. We should get to the campus.”

Haechan pouted slightly, walking back over to Taeil’s side and rubbing small circles into his lower back. “My Taeillie’s tired. And you have to settle in.”

Johnny nodded, following them as they walked to a waiting taxi, not missing Haechan’s whisper of “He’s so tall, Illie!”.

Johnny had intended to be quiet throughout the ride, but, of everyone to fall asleep first, it was Haechan, his head on Taeil’s shoulder. Taeil pressed a kiss to the crown of his head before turning to Johnny.

“You look a lot like your parents. Your mother was my favorite pupil,” he hummed, “But she was very suspicious of my Hyuckie.”

“She used to tell me stories about how you were the greatest summoner she’d met. But she never mentioned him.” he nodded towards Donghyuck and Taeil gave a weak smile in response.

“He was a soul mage that got a little too ambitious. Hellhounds came for him and… He became one. He and I have been together for nearly one hundred years.” He smiled and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat. “He’s trouble.”

Johnny nodded, leaning his head against the window. “What’s even the dress code at this place? Like should I have paid more attention and learned how to dress in hanbok?”

Taeil laughed softly, trying not to jostle the sleeping demon. “They were strict about it back in my day, but things have changed since the 1920s. Just be comfortable and bring any magical items you have with you.”

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful, at least until they pulled down a particular street and the air was so charged with magic that Johnny could feel the static of it in the air. Taeil slowly seemed to come out of his own daze, shaking the softly snoring Haechan awake.

Eventually, the taxi came to a halt in front of an alley, Taeil giving a small smile to the driver as he paid while Johnny pulled his luggage from the trunk. The driver made no comment as he drove off and Haechan took off down the alley in a half-skip, bouncing slightly as waited for Taeil to catch up. Johnny followed close at his heels, looking around at… a dead end. Before he could even make a comment, Taeil shook his head, a glamour wearing off in what looked like a flurry of glitter, little dots of starlight appearing on his face and the tips of his ears revealing their points.

“Welcome to the Seo Grand Academy of Magic,” he announced, turning his back to the wall at the end of the alley with his arms spread wide and… Nothing.

Johnny raised an eyebrow as Haechan cackled.

“Illie! You didn’t take the glamour down!” He nudged Johnny in the side with a grin. “Spellcasters, am I right?”

Taeil shot him a look before turning back to the wall, a pale silver light forming at his fingertips as he waved his hands, revealing a large door. Donghyuck clapped his hands together before walking towards the door, taking Taeil’s offered hand as they pushed the door open for Johnny to walk inside.

The building was massive, looking somewhere between ancient and modern in its decor. There were stairs and doors and hallways all over, but, directly ahead, sat a glass case and a few old paintings, a young man examining them.

“Hey, Mork!” Haechan called out, breaking free of Taeil to run over to him, startling him. “New arrival from America!”

The young man, Mark, turned around to look at them, flashing them a smile before waving them over, just before he was nearly slammed into by Haechan.

Johnny almost hesitated in walking over. “Is he just like that with everyone?”

Taeil shrugged, “He has his favorite people. Mark is just his favorite person to annoy. Especially since we don’t have a lot of druid resources here.”

When they finally were close enough, Mark wiggled out of the headlock Haechan had been holding him in. He looked over Johnny carefully, something like realization hitting him as he blinked a few times, his grin finally returning. “Dude, this is _awesome_! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting.”

“Sure you have, Jark,” Haechan scoffed, “You’re always staring at this stuff.”

Mark shrugged, turning back towards the small display. “I mean, it’s neat.”

The display consisted of two swords, a handful of common items of the Joseon era, and two paintings, the paper cracked in places. They seemed to be from the same painter, each one depicting a young noble, though one had been more delicate in its faded details. Something about them didn’t seem quite like the old Korean art he’d been shown.

“They’ll tell you the story at orientation, but these two? They were brothers of the Seo family,” Mark started, “They called the eldest brother Jun as his protection name, but the younger brother didn’t use one. His name was Minhyung, and he was the first headmaster of this place. It would have been his brother, but he died of demon’s plague. Like thirty years after, Minhyung figured out the cure for it. They still use that cure to this day.” He looked at Johnny with another grin. “Neat, huh?”

“I guess,” Johnny shrugged, but his eyes hadn’t left the more detailed of the paintings.

“They’re interesting, right? Word is that the elder brother had a lover from another country and that’s who painted them. No one knows if it’s true, though. But Jun is this one.” He pointed to the more detailed painting. “Kinda looks like you.”

Haechan groaned, “Stop talking out your ass, Markingtons. You’re just coming up with bullshit, now.”

“You can’t prove me wrong. Now let me show my new roommate the dorm. Jae is gonna lose his mind.” Mark looked delighted a moment. “We won’t need the step ladder to get the mugs down, now.”

Taeil, who had been slightly dazed again, slumped against Haechan, the sparkles on his cheeks dimming slightly. Haechan excused them, walking them off to what Johnny could only assume was Taeil’s room.

“Come on, dude. You must be tired,” Mark finally said, grabbing one of Johnny’s bag before running up some steps. “So like what kind of magic can you do?”

“I… I’m a chonggak dokkaebi,” Johnny answered. “Moon Taeil-ssi said you’re a druid?”

Mark nodded, “One of Canada’s best. I’m here to learn herbalism from the greatest masters. Like it’s not Minhyung, but… I mean that wouldn’t be possible. You’ll like Jae, and some of the other guys will be stopping in to meet you later.”

When they’d made it to the dorm room, Johnny was immediately hit by the musty smell of smoke, his nose wrinkling at it. Noting his distaste for it, Mark shrugged, muttering a “you’ll get used to that” before running Johnny’s bag to his room. Johnny followed, looking around at the empty space and finding a nice corner in his closet to hide his bat away. He sat on the edge of his bed after Mark explained which door led to the shower and shuffled off to the living room, closing the door behind him. After a moment to gather his bearings, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and turned it on, waiting a moment before calling his parents.

“You were _supposed_ to have called us when you landed, Youngho,” his mother’s stern voice came through, clearly irritated. “What am I supposed to do with a son that doesn’t listen.”

He gulped slightly, “Sorry, eomma. But I made it here safely and I met Master Summoner Moon Taeil and his demon.”

The conversation lasted a while, and had ended only a few moments before Mark knocked on the door and poked his head into the room.

“Dude, you gotta come out here and meet everyone.”


	2. Team Building (2021)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could be better than a welcome party?

Johnny had taken a moment to steel himself for whatever was to come. Whatever was on the other side of the door wasn’t something he was prepared for, all things considered, but he decided to walk out of the confines of his room.

Okay, so he wasn’t really sure how they had managed to fit that many people into the dorm.

Mark cheered loudly, raising a red solo cup into the air, sloshing whatever was in it onto the man standing next to him, who was also whooping almost too loudly. Mark just wound up laughing loudly before pulling the man towards him. There was no doubt about the fact that Mark was drunk from the way he was stumbling and laughing through the crowded room.

“Good of you to join us!” he called out loudly over the noise of conversations and the thumping bass of whatever music was playing. “Lucas, this is my new dorm mate.”

Lucas stared at Johnny, almost sizing him up before he broke into a wide grin. “You look like a worthy adversary.”

Mark elbowed him slightly, “ _Dude_ , you can’t just say that to people you’ve just met.” Lucas just chuckled and leaned down, pulling Mark into a deep kiss that had him throwing his arms around Lucas’s neck and spilling what little was left of his beer down the back of his shirt.

Johnny averted his gaze before another voice came from nearby following a whoosh of air that seemed to knock the drink out of someone else’s hands. Or it could just have been the white wings that seemed to suddenly sprout from Lucas’s back. One of the two.

“Fuck! Lucas, we fucking talked about this!” The voice came from a young man with a handsome face that Johnny couldn’t help but stare at. It was ethereal and otherworldly and Johnny knew what he was looking at almost immediately.

“A fae?” Johnny mused, looking at the young man as he tried to clean up the spilled drink from the floor.

The young man looked up, flashing a dimpled grin. “Only half.” He looked back down at the mess of alcohol that had soaked into the decorative rug. “Can you get a towel? I’m gonna make that dumb bird-man clean this shit up when his tongue isn’t rammed down Mark’s throat!” He raised his voice towards the end, tossing the empty cup at Lucas’s leg and it landed on the floor with a small clatter. “I’m Jaehyun, by the way. Mind giving me your name?”

Johnny let out a laugh at that. “You can’t trick me into that shit. My name is mine. But you can call me Johnny.”

Shrugging, Jaehyun stood up. “Worth a try.” And with that, he walked off to grab some paper towels to throw on the floor.

It took some time for him to gather his bearings, grabbing a drink from the kitchenette before walking around to make small talk.

This was his first time surrounded by all magic users, and it was a little bit intimidating. America wasn’t particularly thriving with magical activity, so meeting witches and other dokkaebi was a new experience. He’d even met a gumiho named Taeyong, who had first walked into the room to warn everyone about the upcoming full moon, but had soon joined in the party, swaying to the music with a moon rabbit named Doyoung.

A group of dokkaebi entered the room when the party felt like it was dying slowly, bringing more beer and soju and a box of buckwheat jellies they’d brought with them to share with their newly arrived brother. He’d almost immediately taken a liking to Kai and Sehun, though they’d brought a witch along who only seemed to intensify the wild energy in the room.

“C’mere!” Kai called out to him, pouring out some unknown alcohol into a few shot glasses. “I got some sorghum baijiu to celebrate another dokkaebi at the school.” He slid one of the shot glasses towards Johnny before raising his own and knocking it back. About seven others looked at him expectantly, only following Kai’s lead after Johnny himself had, a chorus of loud cheers erupting from them as soon as they were all done.

Haechan had made an appearance, sans Taeil, which seemed to shock most people, but apparently his threshold had been met for the day. He didn’t stay long, but had managed to cause quite a bit of chaos when he was around the coven of young witches that seemed to be Mark’s good friends as well, before excusing himself after receiving a handful of mysterious texts.

He wasn’t sure what time it was when the party started to wind down, most of the partygoers leaving the space.

Lucas sat on one edge of the couch, Mark leaning against him as he took a long drag from a blunt that burned blue from the fox fire that lit it (by the kitsune, Yuta), offering it to Jaehyun before leaning his head back to blow the smoke at Lucas, who accepted the gesture with a smile.

Johnny had been pleasantly buzzed through most of the night, just enough to take the edge off the whole situation. He took the blunt when Jaehyun offered it, taking a short drag before passing it off back to Mark.

“This your normal thing or..?” he asked, watching as Lucas swiped the blunt from Mark before he could get any of it.

The kitsune padded over, snacking on a handful of crackers, climbing over the back of the couch to perch himself right on top of Jaehyun’s feet. “Nah,” he started, “Everyone likes a good party, though. Last time, Jungwoo nearly blew the ceiling off the dorm we were in during a game of beer pong. That kid’s magic.”

“We’re all magic, dipshit,” Jaehyun laughed, leaning towards him to steal a few crackers, causing the kitsune’s ears to twitch slightly. “Staying the night, Yu?”

Yuta shrugged, “Is the big lug staying over?”

“He is,” Lucas answered when Mark stole the blunt back from him.

The grimace that passed over Yuta’s face said a lot. “Hard pass.” He stood up and stretched his arms over his head, his shirt lifting to reveal two tattoos on his stomach and a shining navel piercing. “But, I have an extra bed for Johnny and a spot for you..” Nodding to Jaehyun, he winked. “...As the little spoon with me, if you two decide you need it.”

There was a deep laugh as Jaehyun allowed himself to sink further into the cushions of the sofa. “In your dreams, Yuta.”

“You know it,” he answered, leaning towards Jaehyun and sliding his hand into one of his pockets to withdraw another roach, setting it between his lips. “Offer still stands,” he mumbled, straightening back up to light it before handing it off to Jaehyun. “You know where to find me.”

As soon as Yuta left, it was just the four of them and the aftermath of a party. Johnny looked around at the handful of beer cans and soju bottles and red plastic cups that littered the floor, kitchen and coffee table.

“Should we clean the place up?” he asked, and Jaehyun shook his head.

“Nah, it’s Lucas’s turn to clean up since he was so fucking horny, he lost control of his wings. We made a deal. And he’s buying breakfast because he has a single and he’s staying here instead.” He nodded to the end of the sofa where Lucas had pulled Mark into his lap and was planting kisses along his jaw. He slid his foot across the cushions to kick Lucas’s muscular thigh. “Isn’t that right?”

There was a hum of affirmation in response, but Johnny wondered if it might have had something to do with the way Mark allowed his head to tip back as he breathed out the last of the smoke, allowing Lucas to latch on to his throat.

“I suggest you go to your room before they scar you for life,” Jaehyun sighed, taking a final drag of his blunt before snubbing out the flame to save it for later, “Which I know is a long ass time for both you and me. So we better run.”

Johnny decided not to question the advice too much, stumbling off to his room and getting himself ready for bed, climbing under the covers before picking up his phone to look at the texts from a few of his old high school friends calling him lucky for his move to Korea.

It wasn’t long before he could hear what Jaehyun had been warning him about through the walls and there was a small knock on his door. He got up and opened it, finding the fae on the other side, looking particularly annoyed, a thick blanket pulled tightly around his head.

“Do you know a spell of silence? That or could you puncture my eardrums?” he grumbled.

Johnny just stepped aside for him to enter, “My mom taught me a spell or two. Come on in.”

Jaehyun kicked the door shut after swishing the blanket inside before flopping onto the empty bed while Johnny muttered out the spell, a faint blue on his fingers before the sounds on the other side of the wall were muffled.

“My hero goblin man.”

There was (almost) silence as Johnny walked back to his bed, climbing under the covers. “Why didn’t you take Yuta up on his offer?”

“Gotta leave a man wanting.”

The quiet returned for a bit before Jaehyun spoke again. “Mark and Lucas are cool dudes. They just think they’re bein’ quiet and all. I’ve been hit in the face by a wing because he keeps forgetting to control them.” He snorted a laugh. “That was the weirdest black eye I’ve ever explained.” Another silence took over, Johnny allowing his eyes to close. He could hear rustling on the other bed as the fae tried to get comfortable. “It wasn’t overwhelming, right? The party? Because the dokkaebi squad heard you were gonna be living here and decided there needed to be a party and then Lucas just kinda rolled with it. Mark asked him to keep it chill.”

“It’s fine, dude. But I am jet lagged, drunk and high, so…I want to get some sleep.”

“Right, right.” He clicked his tongue a few times. “I saw your tattoo. A little sunflower? That’s cute.” Johnny went silent, lifting his arm to brush his fingers over the ink on his arm, but staying silent on the subject otherwise before Jaehyun continued. ”This is a normal weekend, by the way. Not always the party, but my man Mark getting absolutely railed over there…?”

“I’ve literally met you all like five hours ago,” Johnny groaned, “I don’t think I needed to know any of that.”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t help anything when this looks like the first time you’ve been around any magical beings apart from like.. I don’t know any American magical creatures besides like… whatever asshole invented McGriddles.”

Johnny didn’t really get the chance to sleep that day, but he still dragged himself out of his bed at dusk to make himself a cup of coffee, unpacking his french press and carrying it carefully to the kitchen. Lucas was cleaning up the mess from the party the night before, wearing a pair of sweatpants and not much besides that while Mark leaned against the counter of the kitchenette, sipping some tea, wearing an oversized band shirt and a pair of loose sweats.

“Morning,” he managed out, his voice sounding thoroughly wrecked.

Johnny, feeling particularly devious, went to boil some water and measure out coffee grounds, shooting Mark a curious glance. “You look like you’re about to keel over. Why don’t you sit down?”

A deep blush took over Mark’s face, the tips of his ears tinting a deep red. “I… Can’t.” He took a longer sip of his drink. “Sorry if we kept you up. Xuxi gets intense when he’s high.”

“Honestly, you two were nothing. Jaehyun just wouldn’t stop talking all night.” He poured the steaming water into his french press, setting a timer soon after and digging through the cupboards for a mug he could borrow. “How did you two meet, by the way?”

“He was my tutor!” Lucas called out, “I failed the class because I wanted to kiss his face so much that I didn’t study.”

Mark let out a slight laugh before the front door of the dorm was thrown open and Yuta stepped in with a coffee in each hand. He kicked off his shoes and carefully closed the door with his foot. Before he could even say hello, Mark was pointing to Johnny’s room and Yuta walked past them, directly into the room, muttering something along the lines of “my poor baby”. When Johnny walked into the room to grab his things for a shower, Yuta had climbed into the bed with Jaehyun, arms wrapped around his waist tightly, and was muttering something about coffee into his ear.

This became routine over the next few weeks.

Yuta would come over to their dorm early. Sometimes with Jaehyun in tow, oftentimes with a carrier of coffees. Mark would eat some kind of questionable breakfast on weekdays, wailing a bit when Yuta would sit on his legs or he’d just goof off until Lucas showed up, and then the two of them would be almost intolerable.

He learned a lot about them, such as Jaehyun’s mom had been a fae and his dad had been a powerful spellcaster, though he took after his mom more, and how Mark’s family was known for casting through instruments, but his had shown up as lyrical spells, generally culminating in his raps. They even both had familiars (Mark had a snake he called Steve, and Jae had a chameleon that he affectionately called Little Dude).

Weekends were for parties, though they weren’t always at their dorm. Whether or not Mark and Lucas were keeping the whole dorm up all night depended on how close they were to Lucas’s single dorm, and it kind of became familiar territory for him and Jaehyun to sit around and chat until about midday. Sometimes, Yuta was there, stretched across the floor, his fox tail swishing slightly as they chatted. Other times, he would scurry off before things got too loud, offering the extra space in his door and yelling something about using protection in the general vicinity of Mark’s room.

So it was on one Saturday, the three of them sprawled across Johnny’s room, with half-full containers of takeout spread across the floor and a couple bottles of soju between them, that Johnny finally started to feel like maybe this place was home.

“I can’t believe classes start this week,” Yuta grumbled, pouring another shot for each of them, “Like I _get_ it, but I don’t want to write anything about the history of magic. And they put me in _Conjuring_ this year because it was the closest thing they had to my fox fire.”

Jaehyun shook his head, scooping some noodles with his chopsticks. “I mean, I’ll be there too. I’m also taking Dokkaebi Studies because they’re still offering it as an elective, so you’ll have to get used to me, John.” He crammed the oversized bite into his mouth, mumbling something that no one could possibly understand around it.

“I transferred here because I was following my instincts. Be grateful I found you,” Yuta scoffed, “Your life would be dull, otherwise.”

Johnny looked between the two of them, the question that had been on the tip of his tongue finally coming out. “So like… Are you two dating?”

Jaehyun shook his head. “Nah, man. We’re rivals of love. But he’s going down.”

Yuta just huffed out a laugh, throwing his head back and nearly tipping over. “Oh my _god_ , Jae! I have the upper hand.” He managed to catch his bearings for a moment before he finally drank from his shot glass. “And we’re only rivals because you _insist_ we are, baby. We’re both just members of the Taeyong appreciation club. And the Si Cheng club, too.”

“That’s because Si Cheng is like… the sweetest and cutest guy in the fucking world,” Jaehyun grumbled, picking the meat from the noodles he’d been slowly eating for the past hour. “But now he’s off hunting demons with High Conjurer Kun until classes start back up. They wanted Master Summoner Taeil, but he would have had to send Donghyuck back into hellfire, and Taeil almost lost it in front of the entire council.”

“Shit,” Johnny breathed, abandoning his shot glass to take a swig directly from the nearly-empty soju bottle. “Why does the school keep him around if that’s the case?”

“Because it was the exorcist council,” Yuta shrugged, “Moonlight elves and all. But you might not be too familiar with them. He’s the only one who can do proper magic and not just flashy demon-murdery magic. He’s a fucking legend of being a shit in classes, too.”

“Because not just any bitch is gonna summon a whole demon during a beginner’s practical exam.” There was a pause before Jaehyun eyed Johnny. “Hey isn’t your mom a High Summoner?”

He shrugged, muttering a “yeah” in response.

“You should try summoning! I fucking bombed it last year. But, like, you’re half-witch. You should have a familiar!”

Yuta blinked a few times, a look of delight taking over. “We should move the beds together, then. For more space _and_ equal opportunity cuddles.”

Johnny snorted, but he was fairly tipsy, and a bit of magic couldn’t hurt. Moving the beds together had been… interesting, with socked feet slipping on the clean wooden floors as they tried to slide them together. They finally managed after some struggle and a lot of laughter.

When that task was done, Johnny turned to Jaehyun. “How do I summon one?”

“I don’t know, dude.” Jaehyun was sprawled across the lovingly named megabed (which was the size of a double and no more, so it hadn’t even earned the title). “I bombed the class. Just google it or something.”

Yuta made a sound that Johnny guessed meant he was on the hunt, typing something on his phone. “Donghyuck owes me a favor.”

No one wanted to know what that was about, but it wasn’t long until there was a pinging noise to announce a text, a picture message showing the circle that needed drawn. When they all realized there was no chalk, Yuta tapped his chin. “Think we can make it with eyeliner? I have eyeliner.”

And so they tried, but when all that happened was a weak puff of smoke, they had all decided that they were too tired to function and needed to go to bed. Yuta decided to be in the middle, arms stretched out until the others laid down and he could pull them in close.

That night, Johnny dreamt broken pieces of someone he couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t an uncommon kind of dream, especially after his 18th birthday when the tattoo had appeared on his skin suddenly. Every time he tried to grab onto small details, they turned into smoke and slipped through his fingers, fading away only for him to still try again and again.

He woke up to something heavy padding its way up his side, leaning in to loudly sniff at his face before letting out a tiny, high-pitched sneeze. He cracked open his eyes, narrowing them at whatever had broken into his room to provide probably the grossest version of lip smacking ASMR, only to be met by the very slightly cross-eyed expression of a curious Siamese cat, its nose maybe a little too close to his eyes.

Well, this was going to be an interesting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/yoongusamoongus)   
>  [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/sweetcinnamonbun)


	3. Familiars, First Days And Flekka (2021)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the idea that started all of this, but...
> 
> Johnny learning more about the mystery cat, his first day of classes, forming friendships, and a trip to IKEA, finally.

Early dusk had mostly been spent chasing around the mystery cat around the apartment, in some attempt to figure out what had even caused it to just… appear. Eventually, Johnny had managed to swipe the cat from the floor, lifting it into the air triumphantly, causing it to let out a disgruntled meow.

Lucas poked his head out of Mark’s room, blinking tiredly. “What’s all the noise?”

“I think I just caught a whole familiar.” Johnny answered, showing off the cat before cradling it to his chest almost protectively.

Lucas nodded a couple times, slinking back into the room and closing the door behind him with a loud yawn.

Returning to his own room, cat in tow, Johnny found that Yuta had curled around Jaehyun, wrapped around him tightly as his tail lightly thumped on the mattress. Johnny chuckled to himself, closing the door and setting the cat on the floor before walking over to grab a hoodie from his haphazardly organized closet, pulling it over his head and pulling the string from the hood to dangle it just out of the cat’s reach.

“It’s just you and me, little buddy,” he said softly, reaching out to pet the cat’s soft fur, only for it to be too riled up, sinking its claws and teeth into his skin. “Ow! That was rude.”

He wasn’t sure how long he was playing with the cat by himself before Jaehyun woke up, muttering out a “hey handsome” to Yuta, who just hummed before patting the other side of the bed shooting upright when he couldn’t feel Johnny next to him.

“Morning,” Johnny called out from his spot in the corner, the mysterious cat having climbed onto his lap, purring contentedly as he scratched its chin.

Yuta visibly relaxed a moment before his gaze landed on the cat. “Johnny. What the fuck is that?”

“A cat,” he answered with a shrug. “Woke me up. The spell might have worked last night and we might have been too fucked up to notice.”

“But…” Yuta started, brows furrowed in confusion while Jaehyun slowly sat up. “But there wasn’t a cat last night! How did he get in here?”

Johnny huffed out a laugh, “Had to be a spell. The door was closed, and this little guy doesn’t have thumbs.”

Nodding like Johnny had just said the single most sensible thing, Jaehyun pulled himself out of bed, nearing the cat and holding his arms out for it. “Can I see?” Hesitantly, Johnny agreed, handing the cat over. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other intently, the moment ending when a paw came to rest on Jaehyun’s nose. “Well, he is definitely a familiar. And his name is Louis. He wanted you to know that.”

Johnny nodded, holding his hands back out for the cat to be returned to him. “Gimme my baby.”

With a roll of his eyes, Jaehyun dropped the cat back into Johnny’s arms. “He’s not a baby.”

“He doesn’t mean that,” Johnny muttered, scratching Louis behind the ears until he seemed to melt onto Johnny’s lap. “We need to get you some stuff, huh?” He looked to the others, still mindlessly scratching. “He’s probably hungry, right? We need cat food and a litter box.”

Yuta shrugged, standing up to stretch his arms above his head. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind getting out of the dorms for a bit. We could grab something from Phoenix Fire or something. Celebrate our last night of freedom before classes tomorrow.”

“Don’t remind me,” Jaehyun grumbled, “But I need a shower, first. I smell like soju and old take out.”

Waggling his eyebrows, Yuta turned to him. “We could save water by showering together.” Jaehyun had only laughed in response, walking through the door and muttering out a “buy me dinner first”. At Johnny’s look of confusion, Yuta’s face scrunched up. “What?”

“Nothing.” Johnny immediately answered, turning away from him to look at the purring cat.

Mark and Lucas decided to tag along for their shopping trip and breakfast plans, walking with their hands laced together, swinging them slightly like any of the grossly in love high school couples Johnny had seen while growing up.

Johnny brought along his bat, glamouring it to look like an umbrella. More interestingly, he had seen each of his friends glamour something else away, but it was the first time he’d seen Yuta look… Human. It was odd to see him without the ears or the tail. Jaehyun’s eyes appeared dark brown, instead of the faintly purple ones he was used to seeing. Lucas’s hair and eyes darkened, and a few of the more prominent hickies on Mark’s neck faded into nothingness.

They went to the pet store first, with Johnny picking out the best items he could get his hands on for his new familiar. It was going to be a lot to carry, but as soon as they were walking on empty streets, he and Lucas made easy work of it all.

He’d expected to go directly home, but the other four unexpectedly swerved down a street he hadn’t been down yet, and he followed curiously.

“Where are we going, guys?” he called out, craning his neck to see past the box for the new cat tower.

“Phoenix Fire Kitchens!” Yuta answered, as though that actually meant anything to him.

Mark was the first to catch on. “Guys, he’s had the food, but I don’t think he’s actually been there.” Lucas gasped softly and Mark gave him a comforting pat on the arm. “It’s the best restaurant in Gwangju and they cater to people like us. The owners are super cool, too.”

“As cool as a couple of phoenixes can be,” Jaehyun chuckled, “Youngest one here’s buying.”

All eyes turned to Mark, who huffed in annoyance at the suggestion. Lucas cooed at his boyfriend’s pout, leaning towards him to land a loud kiss on his cheek.

“I’ll help pay, so don’t worry,” he muttered, pressing another kiss to his hair. Mark beamed a bit at that, walking a little bit closer so that their shoulders bumped with every step.

The restaurant was a small kind of hole-in-the-wall place. There weren’t many people inside, save for a couple of gumiho pouring over maps and schedules of the full moon (Taeyong was among them, muttering something between bites of dak-kalguksu that the others seemed invested in and both Jaehyun and Yuta swooned) and Donghyuck and Taeil, who were feeding one another small bites of jjolmyeon and existing in their own little world.

Mark waved at one of the two people who were poking their heads out of the kitchens for any sign of new customers, and the man tried to wave back, though his hands were weighed down by the dough he had been carefully pulling into noodles with practiced hands. “You know the drill!” he called out, “Take a seat anywhere! My wife will be right out.”

“Thanks, Dawn!” Mark called back, and the man shuffled back into the kitchen. They found a large table off to the side, and everyone took a seat. Lucas moved his seat closer to Mark, his arm thrown around the back of his chair. “They have the best noodles you’ll find anywhere.”

“That’s because Hyojong and I have had some time to practice,” a sudden voice chimed from beside the table. The woman looked around at them, her gaze finally settling on Johnny, eyes widening just a bit as she took him in before she schooled her expression into something more neutral. “You brought a new friend?”

Mark chuckled, “Yeah, this is Johnny. Johnny, this is Hyuna, one of the prettiest phoenixes in all of Korea.”

She beamed at the praise, looking to him with a knowing smirk as she twirled fiery red hair around her finger. “Are these mean boys making you pay again, Mark?” She laughed brightly a moment before turning back to Johnny. “It’s nice to meet you. Now, what can I get for you?”

They hadn’t been wrong about the noodles. Johnny had helped himself to a few servings of jjapaguri, laughing as his friends all recalled when they had orientation like he would the next day.

“Wait, so you and Yuta met because you tripped on his tail?” he chuckled and Jaehyun nodded, casually pulling the kitsune closer to him.

Yuta shrugged, leaning into it. “I mean, I wasn’t mad.” He used his hands to frame Jaehyun’s face. “I mean _look_. Anyone this handsome can trip on my tail or fall directly on my lap _any_ day.”

Johnny laughed, but noticed one of the gumiho casting glances their way out of the corner of his eye. “I doubt mine will be that interesting.”

Lucas shrugged, rubbing gentle circles on Mark’s shoulder, “I wouldn’t count it out. Some of the new witches are… interesting. What classes are you gonna have?”

“Dokkaebi studies, magic theory, magical history…” he shrugged, “And then there’s that class for anomalous magic.”

Mark nodded, “You’ll be in that anomaly class with me and Jungwoo. The dokkaebi squad, too. That one’s taught by High Conjurer Kun. If you ever get into Conjuring classes, he teaches them as well. Dokkaebi studies is taught by Wonho. Magical Theory is Master Summoner Suho. He also teaches Beginner and intermediate summoning. The higher levels are split between Grand Summoner Heechul and Master Summoner Taeil. And then Magical history is run by Grand Caster T.O.P..”

“I have to retake Magical history, too,” Lucas chuckled, turning Mark’s face towards him with a finger, “I get distracted in that class.”

If there was a way to adoringly roll your eyes, Mark had mastered the technique, huffing out a small laugh before leaning in to kiss him. “Maybe I should stop participating in it.”

Yuta cleared his throat. “I’m going to lose my lunch because of them… But you’ll have Magical theory with me and Jae and I are both taking Dokkaebi studies. And not just because the professor is a sight to behold.”

Jaehyun tilted his head at that, “You’re taking that one, too?”

Nodding, Yuta stretched out to grab another bite of noodles. “I have to make sure you’re staying loyal to me.”

The rest of their meal passed by without much incident, and Hyuna discounted the price to make it more manageable for “her favorite customer”. He stuck his tongue out at Jaehyun and Yuta before Lucas snatched the bill from his hands and paid, snagging another kiss before he did.

As soon as they got back to the dorm, Johnny was busy setting up his space for Louis, finding the best places for the litter box and cat tree in the space. To his delight, Louis seemed to be pleased with his new things.

The rest of the night was spent making sure that he had everything prepared for classes and rolling his eyes at the way Jaehyun was half-laying on Yuta as they watched a movie on the living room couch.

He slept that morning at dawn, Louis curled up on his chest and awoke just before dusk, the feeling that something was just out of reach in his dreams clawing its way into the back of his mind. Still, it was about time for him to wake up, to get ready for classes again, so he went about his daily rituals.

After a shower, he dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a t-shirt that couldn’t be seen under the hoodie he pulled on over it, tucking the amulets his mother gave him under the collar. When he left his room, Yuta and Jaehyun were still on the couch, the kitsune’s tail wrapped around the both of them to keep them warm.

Johnny made himself a cup of coffee, quietly taking his time to enjoy it before leaving for orientation, his bag slung over his shoulder and his bat in his hand.

There weren’t a lot of brand new students like him, maybe eleven, not including himself. Most were dokkaebi, like himself, and he found himself nodding at them in recognition. They stood in front of the historical display, a tired professor tapping his foot as he counted the seconds before he’d begin.

“Welcome to the Seo Grand Academy of Magic. I’m Grand Summoner Heechul, and I’m here to introduce you to the history of this place and greet you. You’re a group of primarily chonggak dokkaebi, which is… New.”

This was something they all seemed to be acutely aware of. Dokkaebi hadn’t really been born for ages, and so the sudden number of them popping up meant something had happened. Something to cause a vacancy in magic that needed to be filled.

“How many of you know the history of this place?” Heechul asked, and Johnny was almost tempted to raise his hand, only to think better of it. “None of you. Alright. Well, the Seo Academy was started by the Seo brothers who are pictured behind me. The original plan of it was to create an academy for demon hunters to refine their magic. They had allies all over Asia, but when the academy was attacked, it’s said that no one came to their aid. The elder brother, known as Jun, was killed in an attack, leaving the younger brother, Minhyung, to build the academy. Minhyung’s descendants still run the school to this day. There was a protective spell to keep demons off the premises, but..” He was cut off by a bark of a laugh as Taeil came into view, a snickering Haechan trailing behind.

“But a particularly troublesome elf broke all the wards and seals,” Taeil sighed out as he stepped over to the Grand Summoner. “Sorry, Haechannie didn’t want to get out of bed. You know how he is. And last night was the ninety-third anniversary of our first grimoire being completed. I couldn’t bring myself to wake him.”

“Good of you to finally show,” Heechul sighed, “But yes, Moon Taeil was the one to break the seals that were in place for two hundred years. However, that has allowed us to help Gumiho and Dokkaebi and more infernal beings learn. Even if it comes with…” He loosely gestured to Haechan, who flashed him a brilliant smile.

“I don’t know what you mean, Heechul-ssi. I am a _delight_!” There was a particularly devious look on Haechan’s face before he turned to the new students. “My name is Haechan, and I’m the professor for Infernal Magic, Infernal Studies and Advanced Magical Theory. And this lovely thing…” He pulled Taeil to stand beside him. “Is the next Grand Summoner, when the old man over there retires.”

Taeil rolled his eyes with a similar affection to the way Mark did with Lucas, the little dots of starlight on his face brightening slightly as he blushed, a little smile pulling at his lips. “Hyuckie, stop it.”

“Why, though?” He sighed and looped his arms around one of Taeil’s, resting his chin on his shoulder. “He’s such a powerful summoner, he doesn’t even need a name of protection. I’m lucky he summoned me.”

Taeil’s embarrassment only seemed to grow as he nervously smiled at the group of new students. “Yep.” He popped the ‘p’ a little loudly, looking to Heechul to continue.

The rest of orientation went smoothly… Or at the very least however smoothly Haechan would allow.

First class: Anomalies in Magic

Professor: High Conjurer Kun

The class had been very structured. Johnny took a seat between Mark and Sehun, taking notes as the High Conjurer spoke. He tried not to focus too much on the handful of old scars on his arms, revealed by the way he’d rolled up his sleeves, or the way his waistcoat seemed to fit him just right, taking notes instead.

“So how many of you know about the last major anomalies in magic?” He looked around the room, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and nodding when no one answered. “Anomalies occur when there’s a magical void to fill. There were a lot of them hundreds of years ago, when witch hunts were more common. There was one a hundred years ago that caused some interesting ripples in the foundations of the school. Even one of the school’s founders was considered anomalous. He’s considered the first Grand Summoner of the Seo Academy, even though he passed away before the school was truly set up.”

Jungwoo, who sat a few rows ahead of them, slowly raised his hand. Kun nodded to him. “Have there been many anomalies who don’t come from a magical family?”

Kun gave him a soft smile, “You’re actually talking to one. But your circumstances are different from mine, and we’ll get to that later. But to answer your question… Yes. There are many from the past, they’re just not quite as common anymore.”

Jungwoo nodded, beaming slightly at the new knowledge.

Johnny, however, could feel an odd sort of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

Dokkaebi studies was next, with Yuta and Jaehyun sitting next to him in the class, passing each other notes and eyeing the incredibly handsome professor. But, then again, they were all _chonggak_ dokkaebi. They were all incredibly handsome.

Magical Theory was interesting, with Master Summoner Suho starting the class with icebreaker games before starting off on his spiel about the different types and levels of magic.

As he learned, the different types of casts had different kinds of permanence, with vocal spells being the least and the dying art of ink magic being the most permanent.

“The old style of ink magic died out more than two hundred years ago, and it started with the disappearance of the eldest son of the Leechaiyapornkul family. There’s been a resurgence of people trying to bring it back, but no one knows the old spells or ink recipes that are still living. It was passed down with oral tradition, and so the most beautifully complex type of magic has been lost to us,” he sighed, “It’s a shame.”

Again, Johnny felt that weird kind of churning in his gut.

Last was Magical history, where he sat next to Lucas, who passed him the occasional note during the class, mostly to ask him how he was liking his classes and if he was famished, too. Besides that, he would look completely starstruck in the direction of Mark, and Johnny couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

At the end of the day, they were all sprawled out across the living room, three pizza boxes on the table and all pleasantly numb from smoking weed, but Johnny couldn’t shake the feeling. He figured maybe he’d ignore it, but it kept building up over the next couple days in classes, like something was wrong or missing or…

He couldn’t put his finger on it.

It was Yuta who noticed first and, when he asked and Johnny fessed up to it, Yuta had suggested a day on the town. Johnny hadn’t been too keen on it, though.

“Come on!” Yuta whined, “I bet it’s because you’re homesick. When I was homesick, Jae and I used to go shopping until I found something to remind me of home.”

Jaehyun shrugged when Johnny gave him a slightly dumbfounded look. “What can I say. I’m a romantic.”

“Right, well, I don’t think that I’m going to find anything Chicago here,” Johnny sighed.

“So we go to like… I don’t know…”

Yuta tapped his chin, deep in thought. “IKEA! They’re all over the world, right? And the food’s pretty good. We might even find something for Louis while we’re out, so we should go!”

And so they had, managing to convince Kai to use one of his unique teleportation spells to get them there with a case of beer and buckwheat jellies.

It’s not like they actually needed anything from IKEA, anyways.

Honestly, whatever furniture they might need, Johnny could manage to get with a wink and a grin or Mark could conjure up with one of his fast-paced lyrical spells.

Yuta was right, however, and it was nice to walk through the places that were both familiar and considered “normal” by human standards, and so drinking iced americanos, Johnny, Yuta and Jaehyun wove their way through the displays of furniture, cackling at the poor attempts Jaehyun made at pronouncing the furniture names.

And yeah… Johnny was looking for a few nice things for his newly summoned familiar.

“Dude,” he started, setting down his glamoured bat for a moment to pick up a cat bed shaped like a couch. “Think Louis would like this?”

Jaehyun looked at it, eyes glimmering gold for a split second as he tilted his head. “I mean, we could probably find something cheaper, my man.”

“Yeah, but I think my boy might like a…” He paused, looking at the tag. “Lurvig.” The word felt clunky on his tongue, and it must have sounded odd because both Yuta and Jaehyun broke out into fits of laughter. “Shut up.” He continued examining it for a moment longer, eventually setting it in the cart with a satisfied nod, picking up his bat immediately after.

“You’re gonna spoil that chunky ass cat,” Jaehyun sighed heavily, pushing the cart forward. “If he even thinks about eating Little Dude, I’m going to steal his name, your name and that one band shirt I like… Watch me.” Yuta gently swatted his shoulder before stepping off to look at whatever had caught his eye, returning with a slight pout and muttering about how there were no fox plush toys.

Johnny rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the selection of cat furniture. “You don’t even actually know my name, so good luck with that.”

“Yes I do!” Jaehyun huffed, deflating slightly to lean over the cart. “It’s.... John...athan?”

“Crowd says no,” he answered, now examining a cat dish, “Better luck next time. And before you ask, you weren’t even close.”

“Son of a bitch.” There was a long sigh as he deflated even further. “Soothe my soul by saying the names of more furniture. It’s hilarious.”

It was a simple, harmless request, and one Johnny easily agreed to as they walked through the furniture some more.

Maybe if they’d been paying more attention between the horribly pronounced jättelik and slattum, they would have noticed the subtle glow of the bat and the lilac flash in Johnny’s eye. If they had, maybe they could have stopped the flash of light from happening, a summoning circle branding itself into the tile floor.

When the flash of light died out, a young man stood in the circle, dark eyes narrowed. He clutched a stack of papers in his hands.

“What the fuck did you just summon me for?” he snapped, waving a few crumpled papers at them to scold them. “I am in the middle of a crisis! My cat went missing four days ago and I don’t have time for whatever bullshit prank you bratty little witches are planning.”

Johnny stared in shock at the man as the papers were swatted at him.

Okay if he was being honest, the guy was cute. Really cute.

Standing shorter than Johnny by several centimeters, he still managed to stare him, Yuta and Jaehyun down like he was the biggest man in the room. Lines of ink crept across every bit of bare skin that the loosely buttoned black shirt showed off.

“Sorry, but.. No one summoned you,” Johnny nervously chuckled, clearing his throat as he attempted to pretend he hadn’t allowed his gaze to linger on the wide holes in the man’s skinny jeans, revealing more of the winding patterns on his skin and he could have sworn he watched the pattern shift. “But… We can try to help with the cat problem, if you want.”

The man huffed in response, “This isn’t just a cat.”

Jaehyun carefully pulled loose one of the fliers from his hand, letting out a loud snorting sound when he took in the picture on it. Yuta craned his neck before a smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth with a similar amusement, though his laughter was held behind his hand.

“Holy shit. Johnny,” he wheezed, poorly trying to stifle and his loud guffaws of laughter. The unnamed man shot him a look with glowing blue eyes and the most stern expression Johnny had ever seen. “Dude, you fucking stole a demon’s fur baby!”

**Author's Note:**

> So this whole idea kinda started as a joke based off of those memes about summoning demons in IKEA by mispronouncing the furniture names and it just got more complex from there. I hope you enjoyed the first installment.
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/yoongusamoongus)   
>  [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/sweetcinnamonbun)


End file.
